The
shocking fall of Mosul and the dissolution of three Iraqi army
divisions raise many questions that cannot be explained by merely
focusing on ISIL. The ongoing security and political crisis in Iraq is a
microcosm of many issues and dynamics facing the broader Middle East,
which it reflects and, in turn, will strongly influence. The progress
and ultimate resolution of the Iraq crisis will have profound strategic
implications not only for Iraq itself, but also for much of the region.

This ATFP panel will examine some of the questions surrounding the
current state of events on the ground, the motivations and interests of
the various actors and their regional connections. It will look at the
various regional players’ interests in Iraq itself, and also in the
context of a complex regional landscape that includes the ongoing
conflict in Syria and the Iranian nuclear negotiations. Finally, the
panel will examine how the crisis in Iraq will impact US interests and
policies in both Iraq and the wider Middle East region.

WHO:Jon B. Alterman,
Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy and
director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and
International StudiesPeter R. Mansoor, U.S. Army (Retired), General Raymond E. Mason, Jr. Chair of Military History, Ohio State UniversityMazin Al-Eshaiker, Chairman of the Injah Development Center, a Baghdad-based economic think tankZiad J. Asali, ATFP President (moderator)

SPEAKERS:Dr. Peter Mansoor,
Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired), is the General Raymond E. Mason, Jr.
Chair of Military History and the Ohio State University. He assumed this
position in September 2008 after a 26 year career in the U.S. Army that
culminated in his service in Iraq as the executive officer to General
David Petraeus, the Commanding General of Multi-National Force-Iraq,
during the period of the surge in 2007-2008. He is the author of
numerous books and articles including Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade
Commander’s War in Iraq (2008), Surge: My Journey with General David
Petraeus and the Remaking of
the Iraq War (2013) and The GI Offensive in Europe: The Triumph of
American Infantry Divisions, 1941-1945 (1999).

Dr. Jon B. Alterman
holds the Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy
and is director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic
and International Studies. Prior to joining CSIS in 2002, he served as a
member of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State and
as a special assistant to the assistant secretary of state for Near
Eastern affairs. He is a member of the Chief of Naval Operations
Executive Panel and served as an expert adviser to the Iraq Study Group
(also known as the Baker-Hamilton Commission). In addition to his policy
work, he teaches
Middle Eastern studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies and the George Washington University.

Mr. Mazin Al-Eshaiker
is the chairman of the Injah Development Center, a Baghdad-based
economic think tank, and an Economic Advisor to the Iraqi National
Congress. Between 2005-2007, he served as Special and Economic Advisor
at the Prime Minister's Office in Baghdad. Prior to that, he was an
active member of the Iraqi pro-democracy movement since 1992. Mr.
Al-Eshaiker managed several corporations in Iraq and California
including Motorola in Baghdad, and most recently ICM Corporation. He
holds a BSEE and an MBA.

MODERATOR:Ziad J. Asali,
M.D., is the President and founder of the American Task Force on
Palestine, a non-profit, non-partisan organization established in 2003
and based in Washington, DC. Since 2000, Dr. Asali has assumed full-time
leadership roles in several Arab-American organizations. He served as
the President of the Arab-American University Graduates (AAUG) from
1993-1995, and was Chairman of the American Committee on Jerusalem
(ACJ), which he co-founded, from 1995-2003. He has contributed and
written for a variety of both domestic and international publications
including The Los Angeles Times, The
Washington Post, Ha'aretz and The Daily Star, as well as providing wide
ranging television commentary and interviews.